€85m Chelsea star 'among best five in the world' says Man Utd legend
Cameron Smith
- 14 Nov 2023 14:41 CST
- 3 min read
Manchester United legend Antonio Valencia believes that Chelsea summer signing Moises Caicedo is “among the best five midfielders in the world.”
Caicedo, 22, moved to Stamford Bridge for an initial €116 million during the summer transfer window, after the Blues agreed a deal with Brighton & Hove Albion after months of negotiating.
The Ecuadorian has formed a nice relationship with Enzo Fernandez and Conor Gallagher in the middle of the park for Mauricio Pochettino’s team, and his countryman Valencia thinks that he should be considered among the very best in his position.
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Valencia, who made 339 appearances during a 10-year career at Man Utd, revealed in an interview with FIFA: “Caicedo is among the five best midfielders in the world. He didn’t have the benefit of a pre-season with Chelsea, but his performances are getting better and better.
“He has been improving in the national team, which makes all Ecuadorians happy. We hope he keeps on improving. He is a good boy, humble, hard-working.
“I watched most of his matches and his level is growing. I hope that at the end of the season he will be the best in the Premier League.”
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Caicedo is valued at €85.8m by FootballTransfers’ in-house Player Valuation Model, which has risen from just €3.7m at the start of 2022.
What else was said?
Valencia also heaped praise on Caicedo’s former Brighton & Hove Albion team-mate Pervis Estupinan.
“For me, Pervis Estupinan is the best left-back in the Premier League and maybe the best in the world,” the former Man Utd star admitted.
“He is having an incredible season and he has room to improve. He’s strong defensively, he’s good on the ball, his crossing has improved, he’s very intelligent. I think he will continue to improve because he’s very professional.”
Liverpool showed interest in signing Estupinan during the summer - as exclusively reported by FootballTransfers - but they decided against pushing to sign the Ecuador star.
Now, it has been reported that Jurgen Klopp’s side are interested in Wolverhampton Wanderers star Rayan Ait-Nouri, although the Algerian has been “blocked” from departing Molineux in January.
